as in ignoring
to dismiss as of little importance
for too long the school just winked at the young athletes' hooliganism, dismissing it as a case of "boys being boys"
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for winking (at)
Verb
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And ignoring that fact is now no longer a laughing matter.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
28 Jan. 2026 -
Parents react in different ways, from telling their potty-mouthed offspring to stop, to explaining why this is a bad habit, to ignoring the behavior, or even enforcing consequences as a punishment.—
Melissa Willets,
Parents,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Point is, this recipe is forgiving.—
Leah Donnella,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
22 Jan. 2026
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But even if society were genuinely forgiving, there are many types of serious crimes.—
Judith Martin,
Sun Sentinel,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The result can be overlooking income that must be reported – like a part-time job or side gig, interest from a bank account or sales of stock.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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Tesoro beat Dana Hills by 29 points in its first matchup against the Dolphins, but the Titans aren’t overlooking Dana Hills in anticipation for its big game against San Clemente.—
Michael Huntley,
Oc Register,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Alarmists will often focus on the negative while passing over potential positive outcomes.—
Jeff Mayhugh,
Washington Post,
5 Jan. 2026
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The epicenter of the hurricane is passing over Cuba at the opposite end of the island to the Caribbean country's capital city of Havana, the BBC noted.—
Abigail Adams,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Therefore, telling the story in graphic form on behalf of Ukrainians themselves, explaining the preconditions for Russia’s attempts to erase Ukraine as a sovereign country and Ukrainians as an ethnic group, became extremely relevant.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
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Nicotine use had the strongest impact on heart health, explaining 34% of the link between late bedtime and heart disease.—
Dr. Joseph Wendt,
ABC News,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Senate Republicans plan to vote on a government funding package as soon as Thursday, shrugging off Democrats’ vows to filibuster the legislation unless DHS funding is removed and amended after two fatal Minnesota shootings.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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Stocks closed higher on Monday, shrugging off a dip earlier in the day after reports of the DOJ probe into Powell.—
Max Zahn,
ABC News,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Dee Winters undercut a pass and returned it 74 yards for a game-sealing score, papering over a shaky performance by the 49ers’ defense.—
Michael Nowels,
Mercury News,
23 Dec. 2025
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But the results were papering over some crumbly performances.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
19 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Winking (at).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winking%20%28at%29. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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